Hamilton County Divorce Rules

Did you know that divorce rules are different county to county? This posting summarizes the rules specific to individuals divorcing in Hamilton County Indiana:

Financial Declarations & Child Support Worksheets

• Parties shall complete the Indiana Child Support Obligation Worksheet and Hamilton County Financial Declaration Form in all contested matters involving child support or disposition of assets.

• Parties must date and file these forms prior to any hearing or trial. Financial Declarations shall be exchanged by the parties and filed with the Court not less than three working days before any preliminary hearing and not less than ten working days before the final hearing. Child Support Worksheets shall be exchanged and filed with the Court on the hearing date. Child Support Worksheets must be attached to all proposed orders and decrees addressing child support.

• If there are any assets or obligations not disposed of by written agreement between the parties, the litigants must prove the value of the assets and the amount of obligations at the hearing.

• Financial Declarations shall be considered as received in evidence subject to cross-examination. Direct examination, on matters in the Financial Declaration, should be confined to unusual factors which require explanation, or to corrections.

Parenting Time/ Visitation

• Prior to April 1, 2001, Hamilton County Circuit and Superior Courts had adopted Visitation Guidelines.

• Now, Hamilton County follows the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. For more about how these guidelines are applied go here.

Mediation & Divorcing with Children

• The Circuit and Superior Courts of Hamilton County have a local rule that strongly encourages parties to mediate there cases before trial. The rule states that the Courts “find that it would be in the best interest of the minor child or children of the parties to encourage mediation and cooperation between divorcing parents prior to and after dissolution of their marriage.”

• Additionally, the Courts require a parenting workshop because it will “aid parents in post-separation parenting; aid development of healthy child/parent relationships in a post separation setting; be in the best interest of the minor child/children and; encourage agreements between the parties concerning child related matters”. Thus, both parents in any divorce, in which there is a minor child/children under eighteen (18) years of age, must attend a workshop entitled “Children Cope with Divorce” (COPE). The four-hour course shall be completed by both parties within Sixty (60) days of the filing of the Petition for Dissolution and prior to the Final Hearing. Failure to complete the workshop can result in a party being ordered to appear and show cause why he/she should not be held in Contempt of Court and punished. If the parties cannot attend the COPE workshop, with the prior approval of the Court, they may use an alternative workshop.

Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders

• In an divorce case filed in Hamilton County, the parties shall not, without hearing or security: Transfer, encumber, conceal, sell or otherwise dispose of any joint property of the parties or asset of the marriage except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life, without the written consent of the parties or the permission of the Court; and/or

• Remove any child of the parties then residing in the State of Indiana from the State with the intent to deprive the Court of jurisdiction over such child without the prior written consent of all parties or the permission of the Court.

To discuss this please contact me. To see all of my postings on this topic search here. 

NEW Indiana Child Support Guidelines 2015

The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order amending the Indiana Child Support Guidelines on November 5, 2015.  Below I have summarized many of the changes.  A copy of the Order can be found here. 

• clarifying that the Guidelines apply to “educational support”;
• the Guidelines apply not only to dissolution and paternity actions, but also juvenile proceedings, as well as third-party custodian and guardianship matters;
• deleting language setting minimum support at $12.00 weekly;
• that “if there were specific living expenses being paid by a parent which are now being regularly and continually paid by that parent’s current spouse or a third party, the assumed expenses may be considered imputed income to the parent receiving the benefit”;
• an adjustment to support for subsequent legally adopted children;
• as to health care coverage, if the coverage is provided without cost to the parent(s) then zero should be entered as the amount; and, if health insurance coverage is provided through an employer, only the child(ren)'s portion should be added, and only if the parent actually incurs a cost for it;
• clarified how to credit social security benefits to a custodial parent;
• updating the Guidelines to follow the “new” emancipation age law;
• defines which education expenses are controlled expenses and which are extracurricular expenses;
• incorporates the Affordable Care Act –“The rebuttable presumption that all children have insurance available at a reasonable cost recognizes the purpose of the Affordable Care Act. Courts should consider any exemption under the Affordable Care Act as sufficient to rebut the presumption that insurance is available at a reasonable cost” ;
• a new provision regarding “Self-Monitoringand Compliance” with the requirement to provide coverage, based on the tax penalties in the Affordable Care Act;
• a removal of the HIPW worksheet and provisions;
• the following language related to the FAFSA form and whether the Court should enter a post-secondary expense order; and
• a consideration of how the right to claim a child as a dependent on a parent’s taxes may affect health insurance subsidies or tax penalties under the Affordable Care Act; shall be prorated by the number of persons covered to determine a per person cost.

To discuss this further please contact me.  

Tax Exemptions & Tax Issues Related to Children - Indiana Child Support 2015

The post discusses how the Indiana Child Support Guidelines  deal with which parent gets the right to claim children as dependents and receive the corresponding exemption, as well as  other tax credits and deductions. Keep in mind that the parents can agree how to share the right(s) to claim.  Before we get to the discussion, there are some important tax forms and publications for parents of children to consider.

RULES AND FORMS

• I highly recommend reviewing the IRS Publication 501, which provides important details and tax rules related to children. 
• See IRS Publication 503, which provides the tax rules related to claiming your child's day care or other work-related child care expenses. 
• Here is a link to the Form 8332, which is the form that must be completed if you need to transfer the right to claim a child or children to the other parent. 
• The last IRS link is to Publication 970, which describes the tax benefits you may be eligible to claim for education related costs and events.  Don't skip this one, because you may be eligible for tax credits (read: cash) for education costs you paid for yourself or a dependent. 

How the Guidelines deal with the right to claim....

The Indiana Child Support Guidelines include the following language regarding the right to claim their child(ren) as dependents for tax purposes:

Tax Exemptions. Development of these Guidelines did not take into consideration the awarding of the income tax exemption. Instead, it is recommended that each case be reviewed on an individual basis and that a decision be made in the context of each case. Judges and practitioners should be aware that under current law the court cannot award an exemption to a parent, but the court may order a parent to release or sign over the exemption for one or more of the children to the other parent pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 152(e). To effect this release, the parent releasing the exemption must sign and deliver to the other parent I.R.S. Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents. The parent claiming the exemption must then file this form with his or her tax return. The release may be made, pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, annually, for a specified number of years or permanently. Judges may wish to consider ordering the release to be executed on an annual basis, contingent upon support being current at the end of the calendar year for which the exemption is ordered as an additional incentive to keep support payments current. It may also be helpful to specify a date by which the release is to be delivered to the other parent each year. Shifting the exemption for minor children does not alter the filing status of either parent.

The noncustodial parent must demonstrate the tax consequences to each parent as a result of releasing the exemption and how the release would benefit the child(ren). In determining when to order a release of exemptions, it is recommended that at minimum the following factors be considered:

(1) the value of the exemption at the marginal tax rate of each parent;

(2) the income of each parent;

(3) the age of the child(ren) and how long the exemption will be available;

(4) the percentage of the cost of supporting the child(ren) borne by each parent;

(5) the financial aid benefit for post-secondary education for the child(ren); and

(6) the financial burden assumed by each parent under the property settlement in the case.

In sum, the Guidelines suggest that judge should consider how shifting the right will make the most money available for the child(ren).

There are other issues  to consider as well.  For example, at some income levels the value of the right to claim "phases-out" so the right to claim is not worth as much to that parent. Also, there are other tax deductions and/or credits that follow the the parent who has the right to claim. Consider having an accountant or other tax professional testify regarding the overall tax effect if the amounts are significant. 

Effective July 1, 2011, the court must specify in a child support order which parent of a child may claim the child as a dependent for purposes of federal and state taxes. This law also clarified that a court must specify that the noncustodial parent of a child may claim the child as a dependent and order the custodial parent of the child to take all actions necessary to release the custodial parent’s claim to the exemption in the manner required under federal law. Finally, the law also requires a court to include in a court order that a parent who is ordered to pay child support may only claim the child as a dependent if the parent has paid at least 95% of the parent’s child support for the calendar year for which the parent is ordered to claim the child as a dependent by January 31 of the following year.

To discuss this please contact me. To see all of my postings on this topic search here.